Experimental
by Mrs.SethClearwaters
Summary: After Tanya Denali killed herself, Bella, Rose, and Alice were thrown into a world they never expected. It was an experiment. It started a journey they can never forget. Ended with a lesson learned. OOC All Human
1. Prologue

It started off pretty plain, and pretty simple.

3 Girls

Best actresses in the school

Best friends

One suicide

**That's how it started.**

New town

Million Bucks each

3 new schools

New lives

**That's what happened in the middle**

It ended just the way I thought it would

In disaster, but a life lesson learned.


	2. Beginning

Tanya Denali

That's all she ever was to me. Just a name. That's all she pretty much was to anybody.

We knew WHO she was. Tanya, daughter of the richest family in town. Moved here 2 years ago, freshman year.

When the "FOR SALE" sign went down and a "SOLD" sign went up in front of the biggest house in the town, the entire town was shocked. This is Forks, not exactly the most extravagant city. That "FOR SALE" sign was probably in front of that house for 3 years. We could tell, since the house was on the outskirts of town, on a little hill. Anyone could look east, and you'd see that house, no matter what. Apparently the people who used to live there owned that house for decades, but never visited. They came maybe once every 5 years for a week just to make sure everything worked. No one knew them either. All I knew was that they had the last name of Johnson, and that was all everyone knew.

They decided to finally sell the house 5 years ago, because apparently it was just a burden to have this random house that you owned, when you lived in Los Vegas or wherever they lived. No one expected someone to buy it. They were selling it for a hefty price, and anyone who could afford to buy that house, wouldn't want to live in Forks. They could buy that same exact house in Beverly Hills for the same price. So, when the Denali's bought that house, the town was confused on why someone in their right minds would decide to live in a tiny, depressing looking town, if they had money to be somewhere else.

When they arrived, it wasn't a limo, but it wasn't a pick-up truck either. Just a large moving van with a Lexus in tow. Still a lot nicer car than anyone else in town. Outside, the house didn't change. No new flowers, or gardens, or decorations. It seemed the only thing that changed about the house was that there was a car in the driveway and the windows were lit up.

They moved in July, middle of summer. All the way until the beginning of school, we never saw them. Not once. At the time, we didn't know what their names were, or how many there were of them. They didn't seem to be the social type. That car never seemed to leave the driveway. We'd all glance up at the hill, and it was always the same. Looked like a barren house, with a really nice, shiny care in front. Probably one of the oddest pictures.

Once freshman year started, everyone was anticipating the 1st day. We knew they had kids, but we didn't know how old or what grade. So the entire town, families with kids in 3rd grade, and families with kids in 12th, were all waiting to see at least one Denali.

Some of the towns most known housewives like Mrs. Stanley were actually suspicious of them. She would tell the town about how she thought Mrs. Denali was a teacher at the high school, because she got kicked out of her old town's school for "confidential stuff". Or how Mr. Denali is Schizophrenic and doesn't go out in public. Pretty much stupid bullshit. No one believed her, not even her daughter Jessica. But Mrs. Stanley was still very cautious of them, so she told some of us how on the first day of school, they need to get out of their house, to take the kid(s) to school. So her plan was to wake up extra early, and sit on her brick wall, and stare at the old, lonely house on the hill, with her camera. And she thinks the Denali's have problems...

Unfortunately that didn't work out as planned for her. By the time she got outside, the Denali's car wasn't in the driveway. I know, the Stanleys live right across the street, and I could hear her cursing her heart out. But that is still kind of weird how their car is gone, at 6:30 in the morning.

School for me was the same for everyone else. Its our first year of high school, but honestly, it's like our Junior High moving to a different location. There's only one high school and one junior high in town, so everyone is going to the same high school, and no one new is coming, except if you moved out of town. Like maybe one of the Denali's. At the time, we still weren't sure.

At school, since we all know each other, and have probably been together since kindergarten, we don't exactly have a "popular" crowd. We have groups, and pretty much everyone stays with their group, but no group is like "superior" to another. There are the people who would seem popular because they're the beautiful ones. But they were fine. We were all nice to each other, but we just didn't talk as much to the other people out of our group than the people in our group. Unless you were the goth group... no one really talked to them, and they seemed fine by themselves. But there's the normal sports people, musical people, theater people, brainniacs. We were nice to each other, but you wouldn't catch a theater person hanging out with a sports person outside of school. It just doesn't work.

Me, I belong to the theater group. I could be with the musical people, since I play the violin, but I had to chose only one elective for school, and I chose theater, since I can still play the violin outside of school. Not a lot of people know I play the violin, only my close friends do. So I'm a theater person, and I'm glad I picked that instead of music. My two best friends, Alice and Rosalie are also in theater, and if I chose music, I would never had become their friend.

That first day, I didn't see anyone new. Apparently no one else did either because once someone found out something, it'll get around like wildflower.

I went over to the wall, with everyone's first period listed. When we get to our first period, the teacher will have our entire schedule. When I went over, my name wasn't the first one I looked for. Apparently neither was a lot of peoples. There was a clump of people around the D's. I saw Jessica Stanley around there, so I knew they were looking at the same spot I was going for. Look for the name Denali. It wasn't that hard to find, someone had circled it about a million times on the paper. Tanya. 1st period History with Shaw. I had 1st period Trig with Thompson. Guess I won't see the new girl 1st period. I scanned the list for Alice and Rosalie... Alice had 1st period with Tanya, but Rosalie had PE. Oh, can't wait to see her have her tantrum. If there's one thing she can't deal with, it's being sticky and sweaty 1st period, then for the rest of the day.

I knew I'd see them all in my 2nd period because theater was always 2nd period. So, I guess I'll have some info on Tanya next period. Walking to 1st period was what I suspected. Groups of people talking, and running up to other groups they haven't talk to. I had about the entire school come up to me at least once on my walk asking "Have you seen her?" That seemed to happen to everyone, since once I shook my head, they quickly moved to another person walking next to me.

1st period was just the same. Some people walked by the History class to glance into the window quickly to see if they could catch a glance at the mystery girl, but of course, Mr. Shaw's classroom is filled with posters everywhere, so when you look into the window, you just stare at blackness, which is just the back of a poster. No use trying to look in between the cracks, because Mr. Shaw had layers of posters. I bet if you tear 5 layers of posters down, you'll find something from the 80's. But some of those people who were brave enough to go into the room, told about what they saw. No one wants to go into Mr. Shaw's room without being in his class. Even those who are in his class will soon learn that they don't want to be there either. He is what you call a man who follows the book. He finds you in the room, and he'll ask you to immediately show you your schedule. If you aren't scheduled to be in his room, BAM you're in the principles office for being a disruption to the class. A lot of people have already heard of this because of older siblings or older friends, but some still thought it was worth the risk, if it was being able to see the girl.

So, apparently she is wearing all black, and sits in the very back. Reading a book. That's what everyone told me during 1st period. So, did they get all this information from the same person? I asked for more information, but they said "That's all they told me". So, I asked who told them, and followed the chain of people. I got lead to 4 people, the 4 who were brave enough to go into the class. I know they didn't go into the class together, since they were all from different groups of people. It was the first time I associated the 4 of them together in my life. So, 4 different people going in and seeing the girl all at different times. And they all got the same 3 facts. Black, back of the room, and book.

The bell that signaled the end of 1st period went off, and people rushed out, and some rushed in. When I saw a spiky head, I was worried. How can Alice have Trig 2nd period? That's the theater period! Did she not get in? Well, she didn't go to a seat. She went smack into me.

"Come on Bella! We have to go to 2nd, and I have SO much to tell you".

So that told me to follow her, wherever she wanted to go. She grabbed my wrist, and for a 5 foot tall person, she's got some strength. I didn't really have an option on whether I wanted to follow her or not. When we got out of the classroom, right there was Rose. Alice let go of me, because I had to follow her now, since we were going to the same place.

"Okay Alice, spill. What is she like?" Of course Rose would ask that. That gossip hungry girl. If she wasn't in theater, she'd definitely be part of the "popular" people. Beautiful, wants gossip, and nice.

"Okay, most bizarre period... I walked in, and it seemed pretty normal. Half the class was there, so I decided to sit next to Mike. But, everyone was silent. I knew I had her in the class, but when I walked in, I knew everyone so I just thought she hasn't come yet. But I didn't look enough, because when Mike moved his head to the corner of the room, there was like... this pile of black. There was some white, but that was from her skin and the pages of her book. She was just sitting there, dressed in all black, with really pale skin, reading a book. I'm not even sure if she noticed that there were 5 people staring at her, but she just kept her head down, staring at her book. I didn't see her move at all, except when she turned the page.

"Then once class started, Mr. Shaw said 'We have a new student this year. Tanya Denali'. Then, the entire class turned around to look at her, and she was exactly the same as she was before, except her eyes weren't on the book, they were up. Looking up at us. She wasn't ugly, but you couldn't see that much of her, since her eyes had tons of mascara, but it didn't look like a raccoon. She just scanned the class, then nodded her head, and went back to her book. The weirdest thing was that she had her hood on. And you guys know how Mr. Shaw's really big on rules and stuff? He didn't say anything about her hood, he just let it stay there. In fact, Mr. Shaw didn't even acknowledge her at all. He never even glanced back at that corner of the room".

"Have you heard her talk?" I asked.

"Nope. I haven't heard any sounds come out of that girl. No coughing, sneezing, hiccuping. Nothing at all."

By that time, we were in front of the theater room. We went through the rest of our periods pretty normal. But every new period, there were always people talking about her. But they had the exact same information that I already had from Alice. Nothing new. Never anything new. Tyler had all of his classes with Tanya, so by the end of school, everyone was around him. If anyone could have any on her, it would have to be him, since he's with her for the whole day.

But he didn't have anything new either. She acted the same for all the periods. Her elective was Drafting 101, so she was pretty much in a room filled with guys. She never talked, and never look up either from her book, or from the paper she was writing notes on.

Jessica tried to talk to her, so on the 2nd day, she found out Tanya's 6th period, and when the bell rang, she ran straight to Miller, English. When Tanya went out of the class (she was the last person to walk out of the room) Jessica went right next to her and said, "Hey I'm Jessica! You're Tanya right?" and stuck out her hand for a handshake. Tanya just stood there, looked up at Jessica, then shook her head. But didn't walk away. Jessica kept on walking with her, so Tanya followed. Jessica was just rambling her mouth off, and Tanya just kept on walking towards the Lexus where her parents were. When Jessica had to walk a different way, she said "Bye Tanya!" and waved. Tanya looked back, and did the first normal thing. She didn't wave, but she just flicked her hand out, so it was just a really small, fast wave. The Lexus' windows were completely blacked out, so we still didn't know what her parents looked like.

That's all we got out of Tanya for the next two years. She never joined a group, because the only group she could join was the Drafting/Mechanical group, which was made up of all guys. The next two years were all the same. People went on with their daily lives. No one tried to talk to Tanya again. We didn't think she was emo or anything, or that she hated the world, we just thought she was this girl who wanted silence, and preferred to be alone. She was never mean or blew people off. To us, Tanya was just a girl that was always just there. There wasn't really substance to her. If there was, she wasn't letting us in. We didn't really care either, if she didn't want us, then we were fine with that. She didn't seem particularly interesting. In fact, she seemed kinda boring. All she did was read and write down notes. Not one teacher told her to put down her hood, and she was never called upon.

No one really paid any attention to her after that first week of high school. Not until April 28th of sophomore year.

The day she killed herself.

We did not see it coming at all. The 27th, it was the same as usual. She didn't talk, didn't do anything out of the ordinary. But, that night she hung herself. She didn't leave a note or anything. She only left her body that her parents found the next day.

At school, that was the first time Tanya's ever been absent. For someone we barely pay attention to, everyone noticed she was absent. The morning periods went by normal, but every so often, someone would automatically look into the corner of the room, making sure she really was absent, and we just didn't see her, because she blended into the shadow.

Lunch gave us answers. The first thing we all did was look east at the house on the hill. Ambulances and Police cars surrounded the place. So, we knew something was wrong. But that wasn't enough for Mike Newton. He made it his job to figure out exactly what's going on. So, he went off campus without permission, and went up to that hill. It was surrounded with caution tape, but he didn't seem to give a damn. He just went over it, and went on the left side of the house. He eavesdropped on the conversation the police men were having for about a minute, then sneaked back on campus. He told everyone what he heard. His 15 seconds of fame.

"They were just standing there, talking. I couldn't hear it all, but I heard 'dead', 'didn't leave note', 'no reason why', and 'hung'. Obviously she killed herself."

We all kind of just stood around, staring in random directions. It didn't really make sense to us. Why she would do it in the first place. I didn't think we were mean to her, we just ignored her, and she did the same to us.

The rest of the school day was pretty seldom. We weren't as happy as usual, but we weren't crying. It was like our goldfish died. You have a goldfish for a long time, but they don't really do anything to effect your life. They're just there. Then, once it dies, you notice and are a little sad, but not long-term. You get over it the next day. Pretty soon, it's almost like it never existed. That's what I thought was going to happen with Tanya.

But her parents wouldn't allow that.

Her parents reacted the same way any other parent would. First anger, then sadness, then reason.

Her parents blamed the school for this. It was the only place she went besides her house. And she was fine at home apparently, because her parents claimed that she was a happy-go-lucky kid at home. But it took time to get that Tanya out. When she first came home from school, she wasn't. She was almost depressed looking. But eventually, around dinner time she would be back to the "normal Tanya" her parents knew.

So, since they obviously had a lot of money, because they bought the large house on the hill, they sued the school. That was the anger part. They tried to close down the school, but that was technically illegal since it was the only high school in the town. So, they decided to just sue them for $50,000. Not like they need it, they just wanted the school to literally pay for what they did.

But before they could go through with it, came the sadness. They decided to not sue, about a week before they were going to go to court. They didn't come out of the house for about 2 months. School finished, and her suicide was still a mystery. None of us wanted to take the blame for killing someone, so we all kind of just concluded that it wasn't us, it was something different. Maybe something in her past.

We knew we were lying to ourselves. We just couldn't handle the guilt of actually taking someone's life. Some of the ignorant people think that she was overreacting. They said we weren't mean or rude to her, we tried to be her friend, she just didn't allow it. And now, she goes off and kills herself for being alone, when she didn't do anything to prevent the loneliness.

Pretty soon half the school, then more than half started thinking that. They started blaming Tanya for her own death. Saying she had no reason to kill herself. By the time August came, more than 75% of the town thought this was only Tanya problem, and that she brought it on herself. Alice, Rosalie, and I were part of the 25% that still thought there was a good reason she did it.

Tanya's parents heard about what these people were saying, which triggered the last part of grieving someone who died. Reason and rationality.

That's what lead Mr. and Mrs. Denali to my front door August 16th.


	3. The Experiment

I call this the "reason" part of losing someone, but honestly, what the Denali asked me to do wasn't at all reason at first. I thought they were going crazy.

It was the first time I'd ever seen them. They seemed to be the normal type of parents. The father had grey hair, kind of balding. He was wearing slacks and a button down shirt tucked in. The woman had a full head of blazing red hair, a purple knitted sweater, and jeans. Both looked like a fine couple, except the fact that their faces seemed to automatically frown and they spoke so quietly you had to lean in to hear them.

"May we come in?" The woman asked, softly.

We moved aside from the doorway and motioned for them to enter. We all went into the living room, and let them have the loveseat, and we just pulled up chairs, except for Charlie. He sat in his recliner as usual.

At the time, we didn't know who they were. So, we didn't want to be rude and ask "Who are you?" because obviously they knew us. So, we just sat there, in an awkward silence, before they broke it.

"I'm Laurent, and this is Sasha. We are – were Tanya's parents". He said, with a pained look on his face, and quickly turned his head away from us, trying to hide his hurt.

"Laurent, Sasha. You two will always be her parents. Nothing can change that." My mother, Renee, said soothingly. All he did was nod his head.

"We know that you are aware about our daughter. We came to ask some questions for Bella, and then ask you, as a family for one of the biggest favors, you might even think we're crazy," Mrs. Denali said, with a lot of fear in her voice. She barely whispered the last part.

"Okay... umm sure. Do you want to do it alone?" I asked, tentatively. I hope it wasn't alone, what if they blame me for their daughter's death? I don't want them killing me, or anything.

"No, it's fine, unless you want to do it alone," Sasha replied.

"I'm fine doing it with my parents here. So, when do you want to start?" I asked.

"Well, now. If you're okay with that..." She sounded even more scared than me! Is she afraid of me? Or my answers?

"Sure," I said, leaning back in my chair. I don't know how long this will take, but I might as well be comfortable.

"Okay, first of all... you are Isabella Swan right?" She asked while getting out a pad of paper and a pencil. What is this? I'm being interviewed by my dead classmate's parents. And their recording my answers. Maybe to give to a judge or something...

"Bella," I answered, with a smile.

She sheepishly smiled back. "Bella. Okay, you take theater at school right?"

How do they know this? "Yeah, I do."

"Would you consider yourself, a good actress?"

Huh? Are they asking this to see if I can easily act my way out of this, so it seems like I'm innocent, but really I'm not? "Well, I'm not the best, but not the worst. I can't sing, but I can improvise pretty quickly."

She quickly glanced at her husband and gave a small smile. "Do you do anything else besides act?"

"I play the violin..."

Then, she gave an even bigger smile, "Perfect." She then turned to my parents. "How are you guys doing... financially?"

What the hell? Okay, I know these people just lost a child, but seriously, what kind of question is that? We're not rich like them if that's what their asking, but we're not poor obviously.

"We're... struggling like everyone else, but we're getting by." Charlie replied.

"Okay, Bella. Do you remember how Tanya" you could see her flinch at the name, "acted through school? Like what she did?" she asked, with a little bit of hope in her voice.

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, no offense or anything, but she didn't really... do anything. She kind of just sat in the back of the room the entire time, reading or taking notes. She didn't talk that much either, actually at all. I don't think I can recall her voice... I'm really sorry."

After I said that, I realized how cold and uncaring it sounded. It's like I didn't even care about Tanya, which I didn't really, but her parents aren't supposed to know that! But, what's said is said. Thank goodness they understood exactly what I meant.

"We know... she never really was the social type..." she glanced at Mr. Denali, and he glanced back at her, before both of them looked down. "So how do you feel... or more, why do you think... she did, what she... did." The last word was barely audible.

"Honestly, I have no idea. But I do not think she did it without good reason. Sometimes I think it's because of something us... as her classmates did. None of us really tried to get to know her, or include her with anything, which I'm terribly sorry about Mr. and Mrs. Denali. If I could go back, I would've tried harder to get to know her. But I don't necessarily think we were mean to her... we kind of just didn't acknowledge her. And she didn't seem to acknowledge us. That's the way it was for two years, and it seemed to work fine, for all of us."

"We don't know why either... God, I just wish she left a note or something. Anything. One word. One letter. Just something... but what's done is done. We can't change what she did. But... this is where you guys might think we're crazy... We can't change what she did, but can we change what others might do in the future?" Mr. Denali said, looking from me, to Renee, or Charlie, then back to me.

"What are you suggesting, Laurent?" My mom asked, leaning forward so her elbows were on her knees.

"We have... as you could say, connections with the film industry. When they heard about Tanya, they sent a lot of sympathy our way, and said if there was anything they could do, they would try their hardest to do it. At the time, we didn't think there was anything they could do. Anything anyone could do. It's still the same now. No one can help what happened to Tanya. But, we wondered if there was a way to help other people like Tanya. Or just to have people be exposed to what people like her felt or went through."

"Okay, so how does this involve us?" Charlie asked.

"We wanted to make a film. A documentary as well as a book. All about how teenagers who build walls around themselves, deal with the world. Is there a way to break down those walls and take that person out of their shell? We want to see how hard people will try to help these people, and what its like to actually live a day, in their shoes. Or a year," Mrs. Denali replied.

"Interesting... but I still don't exactly see what this has to do with us... not trying to be rude," Renee said, looking straight at Mrs. Denali.

"We knew there wasn't a way to actually get people like Tanya to willingly do this. So, we thought... what if we got actors? Or, actresses?" She said, raising her eyebrows at me.

"Wait... you want... me? To act like how Tanya did?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. How the hell would this work? Everyone at school already knows me! They know how I act, and I act no way like how Tanya did. No one did!

"That's a way to put it... so yes. This would be the biggest change for you, and a huge sacrifice. You'd move, to LA-" I cut her off immediately.

"Los Angeles? An entire different state? And leave here? All my friends? All to just act like some depressed girl?" I tried my best not to scream, so I just... projected my voice.

"Bella! Don't raise your voice! You haven't even heard all that she has to say!" Renee scolded me. Like I was some 5 year old.

"No, it's fine. I want to know what she's afraid of. But, please, let me explain. Yes, Los Angeles, California. But don't worry, you won't be alone. Do you know Alice Cullen and Rosalie Hale?"

"Of course, they're my best friends," I said, a little calmer.

"Well, you see, to get 'accurate data', we need to try an experiment more than once right? And we want to know how different types of people deal with it. And we can't have you doing all that, since you can't be in more than one place at a time, we needed other people to be a part of this," she said, with a small grin on her face.

"Wait, so you have Alice and Rose involved with this too?" And soon, it was me with the smile on my face.

"Yes, and their parents already okay-ed it with us. Pretty much, everyone involved in this entire thing already knows, except you guys. Sorry, that's just the way things went. And it was a lot easier telling them, because we told them while they were together, so they already knew they had each other. But, as you would guess, they were worried about you, and when I told them you could be part of it as well, they almost picked up the phone right then and called you. But I said that you didn't know yet, and that we're going to your house right after. You should be expecting a call from them, almost right after we leave," she said, still smiling.

"Okay, so what exactly do you want us to be a part of? All I know is LA and that we're acting."

"We wanted a large range of data, so we tried to pick 3 completely different scenarios. Me and Laurent agreed on 3, because 2 was too little, and 4 would be hard to keep track of, and the documentary would be a lot longer. So, we had 3. We wanted people who actually knew Tanya, and saw how she acted to be the ones involved. So, we needed actors. We asked her old school, and they didn't want anything to do with us. However, Forks High wanted to help us as much as they could. We got a list of the kids in theater, and we were able to talk to Mr. Brand, your theater teacher. We asked him who he suggested would be the best. But, we told him they should be close friends, and have different interests from each other, and from theater. He told us he knew exactly who we were looking for," she said, giving me a grin.

"Us three?"

"Yeah, you guys. 3 best actresses in the school. But, before we could talk to you guys, we kind of did some... investigating. Hope you guys didn't mind, we just looked at what the school had about you, like what other classes you applied for. And just like the papers said, you play the violin. That was perfect. We didn't want the 3 girls to all be the same. We didn't want all of you guys doing the exact same thing in LA, because then we'd only know how people reacted to only a certain type of person. But you three, are so different. You don't look anything alike. You, with brown curly hair and average stature. Alice, black, short, spiky hair, and I don't mean to offend, smaller that most. And Rosalie with blonde hair, and a little taller. So we'll see if people react differently to how a person looks,"

"Okay, I get it, but what about my violin playing?"

"Well we wanted different environments for each of you. You guys were also perfect because you were involved with different things. You'd be involved with music, Alice with theater, and Rosalie with, like Tanya, hands-on activities. She expressed a huge interest with cars..."

Of course, Rosalie would love this.

"If you agree to be a part of this, here is what would happen. The three of you, together with your families, would move to LA. We own an apartment building, and there's 4 room openings, all right next to each other. You can use all 4, one for each family, but all the girls stay together in one room, or you can just use 3, and all the families can stay together. Or any other arrangement you like. Your stay would be free. We talked to 3 schools who have all been a part of this. A boarding school, public school, and private school. Those schools know about this 'experiment'. We got all the students and their parents to sign release papers, so that their kids could be filmed. During the school year, each of those schools is going to have a "film" project where a director is going to come and film them, for what they think is going to be a documentary on Los Angeles. This is a totally fake film project, and I'M actually going to be the 'director' to come and shoot them. So, they think they needed to fill out the forms for this fake film project which is going to last one day, but really they're going to be filmed the entire year, secretly. But, this isn't illegal because they signed the contract, and the contract doesn't say what it would be for, it just says that they have permission to film. So no one at the schools, except for some administrators and the principal, has any idea about the three of you. Get it?"

"Somewhat... so pretty much it's illegal to film people without their consent? So, you sent out release contracts that they all signed. They think the contract is for this fake documentary about Los Angeles, and the fake director who's going to come and film is actually going to be you? So, they think that contract is for this fake documentary, but really its for this experiment?"

"Yes. At the end of the year, we're going to tell all 3 schools that they were filmed all year, and if some kids want their voice changed, or face blurred out, we'll do what they want. We just don't want kids treating you differently that they would normally, just because they know they'll be in a movie. We don't want you getting fake friends or anything, we want this to be as accurate as possible."

"Okay, I get it. So, what happens once the school year starts?"

"Well, you, Alice, and Rosalie will talk and figure out who goes to which school. Loyola High School, which is the private school; Mayfair High school, Public; and North Park Continuation which is the Boarding school. Whoever goes to North Park, they won't live there. They're just going to go for classes, but you'll still live at the apartment complex. It's too risky having someone actually live there, someone could walk in, and know the entire secret. Or just listen through the door or something while one of you is on the phone. Way too risky. No one knows about this. Not even the teachers. Only the head of the school does, whether its the Dean, or the principal. Some people in the district know, because they had to put up the video cameras. Everything that goes on will be on tape. Only you will know. We have hidden cameras that just look like security cameras, everywhere. Except the bathroom stalls. We have part of the bathroom videotaped, in case something happens while you're washing your hands, but don't worry, we won't be able to see if you're doing your business."

"Heh, thanks," I said, with a small laugh, trying to hide the embarrassment.

"This would be a year long commitment. You're going to go through an entire school year like this. I'm not sure if you'll be able to back out of it in the middle of the year, because then it's all been a waste, since we didn't go through an entire year. If I could, I would have made it two years, since that's how long Tanya was at Forks High, but I know that's not a realistic view. No one would want to do it for two years. I'm not even sure if you want to do it for one. But, you're also going to have to keep a journal. That's where the book comes in. All three of you are going to keep a journal with your own personal thoughts and such. We're going to publish it, right after the documentary. So, try to give as much detail and be honest, but anything you're not comfortable with the world reading, then don't write it."

This is crazy. The whole world is going to know who I am and what I'm going to go through for an entire year! These people... are not the 3rd step of losing someone. This is not reason and rationality. THEY may think it is, but I sure don't.

"You're going to dress like Tanya as well. We went through her wardrobe and it seems all it consisted of was... black. We ordered pretty much anything black we could find, and it should be at the apartment in about a week. You're going to have a secret button, that you can put anywhere you're comfortable. When you press the button, it signals to us that someone is talking to you, or doing something to you. We just want you to have it, so that we don't have to watch you sit in class while the teacher's making a lecture. Once you press the button, we'll know something interesting is happening, and we'll pay closer attention. You'll also have an earpiece. We will probably rarely talk to you, its just if someone talks to you and you don't know how to respond, we'll tell you what to respond with. Like, if some random guys comes up to you and asks for your phone number, you'll have pressed the button already, because something interesting is happening, and if you don't know what to do, press it again, and we'll tell you what to do. Whether to just ignore him, or actually give him your number,"

"But, what if I want to do the opposite of what you tell me?" That's what I was most afraid of. What if I meet a person, and actually want to be their friend or talk to them, but since I'm supposed to act distant from people, I won't be able to. Could I really be that good of an actress?

"That's something we don't know yet, and we'll figure it out when the time comes. Bella, we trust your judgment. We don't want you being rude or mean to people. We just want you to have these walls built around you, and for you to distance yourself from others, but if someone wants to break down those walls, we want you to slowly let them in. And when I say slowly, I mean slowly. The minute someone starts talking to you, don't start being all bubbly and talk to them like how you normally would. We want you to act like Tanya. The first time someone talks to you, try to distance yourself. Only talk if completely necessary. You say you can't recall Tanya's voice? Well we want that the same with you. Don't talk, unless you really have to. We made sure the teacher never called on Tanya or made her speak. It was for a certain reason, and we're not... exactly comfortable telling you it now. But you'll probably figure it out sooner or later. It's not really our secret to tell..."

"I know, you don't have to. So, you just want me to act exactly how she did? And if I encounter a situation where I don't know what to do, I need to act the way I think Tanya would've acted if she was in that situation, or just press the button and you will tell me what to do?"

"Yes, pretty much. But if you meet someone, and you feel like they are trying to get in, let them in. Just one millimeter at a time. First... just start with a nod of a head. Or a wave. Or a smile. Then distance yourself again. Each time, let them in a little more, then pull right back out. But Bella, you cannot, under any circumstance, tell them about this. They cannot know that you're an actress. That this is all a set up."

A nod of the head... a wave. That's how it was with Jessica and Tanya the second day... Jessica just didn't try again. Could there really be someone who would try to get to know us? Me, Rose, or Alice? Even if we keep on pushing them out? Ha, doubt it.

"Okay, I understand. When do you need a decision made?" I asked. It can't be now, I need to think. Especially, I need to talk to Rose and Alice.

"Well, as soon as possible would be nice. Oh, something else, you get $1 million. Take it as a gift. I'm sure you'll be able to find job openings, but if you can't, then you'll at least have that to keep you stable for a while. And it'd only be for a year, in the end, if you want to move back to Forks, you most certainly can."

"We'll do it!" My dad nearly yelled, jumping up from his chair.

"Dad! I need to have a say in this too! This is my life that's changing, not so much of yours," I said, annoyed he'd made such a rash decision. "I'll tell you, hopefully by tomorrow. I just need to think and talk to Alice and Rose."

"We completely understand. Just call us whenever you decide. Don't feel obligated to do this." Mr. Denali said, handing me a piece of paper with a phone number scribbled on it.

"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Denali."

They gave a small, departing smile, "Please, Laurent and Sasha," they said, before walking out the front door. Charlie, who was already standing up after yelling that I'd do it, went over to the door and closed it.

"Bella?" he asked, but I just ignored it. I was staring out the window at the two of them, getting into their car, closing the door, then driving away. Once they were out of sight, I let out what I held in for about half an hour.

I threw my hands up and screamed, "WHAT?"

"Isabella! What's the matter with you? They seem like very kind people, and you talk about their daughter as if she was nothing! And now, you scream WHAT? What do you mean what?" Renee yelled at me. As if she was the mature one here. She's yelling as well!

"Mom! I didn't ask for this, okay? I don't want to move to Los Angeles and portray this girl who won't talk to anyone! I want to stay here, and live the life I want to, and ACT the way I want to! But you two lacked to tell me some information about how we're struggling financially, so now, I don't know what to do! Do I say yes, and live the life I don't want, but have you guys happy and us stable? Or do I say no, and break their hearts, but live the life I want? And we continue struggling?"

"Bella, if you don't want to do this, it's fine. We'll get by. And I'm sure they'll understand if you refuse to do this. But you have to think rationally, and be considerate..." Charlie said, still standing at the doorway.

"It's just... I need to talk to Rose and Alice. Can they come over?" As if I need their permission. I sound like a 7 year old asking to go on a play-date. If they won't let me, I'll just go over to wherever they are.

"Sure. Me and Charlie need to go run some errands anyways," My mom said, giving a stern look towards my dad, telling him to just play along.

"Okay then..." and I turned around and went up the stairs, up to my room. Grabbed my phone from the charger, unplugged it, and hit speed dial 2. It took one ring.

"Hey Bella! You got the news?" Of course Alice sounds cheerful as always.

"Yeah, I did. Get over here, ASAP, okay?" I didn't mean to sound rude, but I didn't know what to think of anything right now.

"Yep, sure! See ya in a few!" Then I heard the beep that she hung up, and then silence.

Speed dial 3. This time, it took four rings.

"Hey, so you know?" Rose, bored as ever.

"Yep, can you get over here? Fast?"

"As fast as the car will let me. See ya," and the same beep, then silence.


	4. Decision

By the time I went back downstairs, Charlie and Renee had already left to go do whatever "errands" they wanted. Probably just going to the diner to go eat a steak dinner, even though it's only 3 o'clock. As Charlie says, "Anytime is good for steak". If it wasn't for chicken, I'd be a vegetarian.

Rose came within the next 2 minutes, which was weird, since Alice lives closer to my house. But I wasn't going to complain. I was going to start screaming if no one showed up in the next 30 seconds. She was barely getting out of the car when I opened the front door of my house, then went to the kitchen for 3 bowls and a carton of ice cream. Balancing those with one hand, I went into the fridge and got chocolate and caramel syrup. I saw the piece of paper which had the Denali's number scribbled on it left on the kitchen counter. On my way back to the living room, Rose was already sitting in Charlie's recliner, and quickly took the bowls and ice cream and set it down on the coffee table, before going back to her chair. Whenever Charlie isn't here, she loves sitting there. Its so worn out, the seat probably goes down a foot when anyone sits there. I don't like sitting there because... well, it's Charlie's chair. It just feels weird. And if Alice sat there, she probably would be lost, because she would go down so far; all we would see is her head.

I went back into the kitchen because I forgot the ice cream scoop and spoons. While I was opening the silverware drawer, I heard an engine ahead of me, so I looked up through the kitchen window, and I saw Alice cutting of the engine. She checked herself out in the rear view mirror, then jumped out and she beat me to the living room.

I sat down on the couch with Alice, and started dishing out the ice cream. It was pretty frozen, so my arms were getting quite the workout. I was already so frustrated and angry and confused, that I was using my anger to get out the ice cream. I was getting more violent, then once I demolished the carton and had ice cream all over my hands and table, I just gave up. I let out an exasperated sigh, then slammed myself back into the couch.

"Soo..." was all Alice said, but for some reason, that just pushed me off the edge and I flipped.

"Can you believe them? Asking us to move hundreds of miles away, to probably the most busiest city in the world, to reenact the most loneliest girl on the face of the earth! Or WAS the most loneliest girl on the face of the earth! I mean, when they said you guys were involved, that made me happy, but the more they went on about it, the more crazy they seemed! It's like, why would they want us to do this? If something bad happened to us, they're going to think something similar happened to Tanya! They're going to start seeing us AS Tanya! It's just going to remind them how much of a depressing life she lived! This is not our fault, but we're paying the price! We can't say 'no', because then it seems we don't care, but I don't want to say 'yes' either! Why did she have to kill herself in the first place? She's just an overreacting bitch!"

I shut my eyes, and took 3 deep breathes, thinking "in... out".

When I opened my eyes, Rose and Alice were staring at me, both shocked, but Rose had a hint of a smirk. Neither of them suspected I would just explode like that, and neither did I.

"Ummm... Bella... we kind of already told Tanya's parents that we would do this for them... and we thought that you would've wanted to do it too! I mean, think about it. We're going to be in LA, the complete opposite of Forks. Forks is boring, and LA is everything but boring. Its full of opportunities! Its full of orchestras, theaters, and well... auto-shops? I think? Maybe? And they just lost a daughter, and for all we know, we could've unintentionally caused it. I honestly don't think we did, but you never know."

"Yeah Bella, I mean, really what is there left for us here? One theater, one restaurant, one gym, one store, one everything. In LA, we can go to a place that doesn't just serve steak and cobbler! We can go Chinese, or Italian, or Mexican, or French, not just American. And more importantly, more than one set of boys that we've known since kindergarten. There's at least a hundred times more options in LA. Here, you either chose between the weirdos or the pervs," chimed in Rose, before going off in some daze. Probably imaging all the different kinds of guys there.

"So, there won't just be weirdos and pervs? We'll also have the creepers, serial killers, jerks, nerds, child molesters, and burglars? Gee, can't wait for that," I said, rolling my eyes. They don't seem to get the point. In LA, we could just be walking down a street and get kidnapped. Or, since there's thousands of more cars, larger chance of getting into a car accident. They don't get that here, we know everyone, and there, we know no one.

"Bella, I love you, but you're really starting to get on my nerves right now. We can do anything we want in LA. We could get discovered! We can finally live a life that isn't stuck in this little town. Don't get me wrong, I love Forks, but we need to take a break. Because I don't know about you guys, but I don't plan to stay here for my whole life. We need the outside experience. And we can get one! We're finally in a place, where no one knows us, and we can start fresh! We can -"

But I cut Alice off. She obviously doesn't understand.

"ALICE! You don't get it! Yes, in LA, no one will know it, and it's a fresh start, but it's not a fresh start for us! Because we're not going to be ourselves! We. Are. Going. To. Be. Tanya. No one will be able to know the real us, and Rose, sure, there'll be bunches of guys, THAT WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITH. No relationships, no friendships, not even really TALKING. We're going to have temptation all around us, but we can't do anything about it. We're going to be just as trapped there as we are here."

That shut them up. I was finally getting my point across. Going there, will be just like staying here, except here, we can stay the way we are, but there, our life would be a lie.

"Soo... how are we going to break the news to them?" I asked, finally taking a bite of my ice cream. Well, more like milk-shake.

"Um... we? Bella, we already told them yes! We can't just back out! You're the only person that can say no. We're sorry, but we're going to LA."

That's when I realized the seriousness of this. The only one wanting me to stay in Forks, is me. And that's only half of me. The other half wants to stay with Rose and Alice of course, and also please my parents. And getting that million dollars can help get us back on our feet. And I'll be able to play violin at school, in the school orchestra. A whole hour out of the school day for me to play. Living with Alice and Rosalie. Being put in a movie. And the Denali's already went through so much trouble trying to put this together... I don't think I really have another choice.

"Charlie and Renee have been keeping something from me..." I started, looking down, watching the chocolate chips swirl around the melted ice cream.

"Whoa, wait. They're getting a divorce? Oh my gosh, Bella! If I -"

But once again, I cut her off.

"No Alice! They're still happily married. Umm... apparently we're having, financial issues? And Charlie and Renee really want me to do this, because it could get us back up on our feet."

Alice and Rose looked at each other with a knowing look, then turned back to me, and at the same time, said, "Us too."

Alice continued, "But Bella, seriously, this is your life. Just think about what you want to do, and just you. Pretend we don't exist. What do _you_ want?"

I sat there, staring at the flower design on the spoon, already knowing what I'm going to say. I know what I want, and I know what I should do. But life's about risks. And you have to risk going too far to discover just how far you can really go.

I got up and started walking back into the kitchen. I grabbed the piece of paper off the counter and a phone, and dialed the number written. I heard Alice and Rosalie slowly walk into the kitchen, but I didn't look. It was halfway through a ring, when someone picked up.

A small voice came from it, with a small, "Hello?"

"Mrs. Denali? Hi, it's Bella. I'm in."

"Oh Bella! That's wonderful! Thank you so -"

But I never heard what else she had to say, because the next thing I knew I was being tackled to the floor with arms wrapped around me, and all I could feel was spikey hair tickling my face.


End file.
